Former Crewe goalkeeper calls for Eric Bristow to be stripped of MBE

Russell Claydon

Mildenhall Town manager Dean Greygoose believes former darts champion-turned TV pundit Eric Bristow should have his MBE revoked for his comments on the footballer abuse revelations.

The former six-times world number one was dropped from his role as a pundit of SKY’s darts coverage following a series of posts on Twitter on Monday evening where he claimed the football abuse victims were not ‘proper men’.

Bristow, whose comments included ‘darts proper men footballers wimps’, provoked a big backlash on the social media platform with celebrities including BBC radio presenter Jeremy Vine condemning his views.

Former Crewe Alexandra goalkeeper Dean Greygoose, a current Eastern Counties Thurlow Nunn League manager with Mildenhall Town, broke the silence of Crewe Alexandra players who had been at the club when the child abuse was going on, saying they did not know it was happening.

And the player who also turned out professionally for Cambridge United and Leyton Orient, has said Bristow should have his MBE revoked in the wake of his insensitive comments.

Greygoose, who was at Crewe at the time of the child sex abuse allegations in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was a good friend of one of those who has spoken out, Steve Walters, said: “He is a total idiot for what he has said. Those kids were only 10-14 years old.

Mildenhall Town manager Dean Greygoose

“He needs to crawl back under the rock he came out from.

“The MBE needs to be taken off him. He does not deserve it.”

He added: “It is absolutely disgusting. He was not even drunk, so there is no excuse.”

Five-times world champion Bristow, who retired from competitive darts in 2007, was appointed a Member of The Order of The British Empire (MBE) in 1989.

When appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain show earlier today, he appeared to show no sincere remorse for his comments while it was claimed his manager had asked the BBC for £5,000 (+VAT) for his client to discuss his tweets.